ParentingSelf Help Books: Birth to Twelve Months

Becoming a parent may well be among the most profound experiences of your life. Assuming responsibility for the safety, health and development of a new baby is a challenging and meaningful task. Read more »

Recommended Self Help Books on Parenting: Birth to Twelve Months

Why are there increasing numbers of children experiencing depression, anxiety, aggression and other serious mental, emotional and behavioral problems? Mental health experts agree that this crisis is due largely to their lack of deep connectedness to parents and community. Attached at the Heart is a profound resource for parents who care about making a difference for their children?s lives. In this book, you'll learn strategies to strengthen the emotional bonds with your child; how to be a more conscious parent with your children; and how raising our children with empathy and respect can positively affect society. 2009, iUniverse Star

With this life-saving guide close at hand, you'll be ready to handle over forty common infant and toddler emergencies, including falls, high fevers, bee stings, burns, and more. This self help guide makes it easy to find the information you need during even the most stressful times. Most importantly, you'll learn how to prevent the most common emergencies that new parents encounter. The Baby Emergency Handbook will help you learn the best ways to react in almost any emergency as well as know when to seek immediate medical help. 2008, New Harbinger

You can be a great mom and still have a life of your own. Your kids will only benefit from seeing you as a whole person and will develop greater independence and a stronger sense of who they are as people. This self help book offers dozens of simple tips to help you maintain strong relationships with your kids and live your life in ways that reflect your true values. 2006, New Harbinger

Confessions of a Naughty Mommy is a funny, honest, and sexy account of Raykeil?s search for her missing libido?lost in action after she gave birth to her daughter. She takes readers along on her journey from mystified and frustrated new mom through the bumpy awkwardness of reigniting the home fires during naptime and date night to a newfound discovery and appreciation of sex after baby. With humor, grit, and style, she shares what has worked for her and her husband, as they balance their dual roles of parents and lovers.2005, Seal Press

Covering an infant?s mental, physical, language, and social development from the first week of life to the twelfth month, this guide describes a sequence of events, not a timetable. It also includes growth charts summarizing developmental milestones. 1995, Bantam

The authors, both developmental psychologists, are co-parenting two daughters. Their self help book offers help on explaining lesbianism to children and explores what lesbian parents can do to help children explain their family situation to their peers. The book also addresses the complexity of dealing with the attitudes of the outside world, including relatives, school, and doctors or mental health specialists. 2001, The Guilford Press

Sex. After. Baby. How do new parents, exhausted with sleepless nights, find the time and energy to continue the warm sexual relationship they enjoyed before becoming parents? Many couples struggle to find ways to even talk about the problem. In Love in the Time of Colic, authors Kerner and Raykeil show the way. Their premise: that sex matters . . . a lot. It's the glue that holds couples together and keeps lovers from becoming simply roommates or co-parents. Funny and frank, Love in the Time of Colic will help parents take the charge out of this once-taboo subject, and put it back where it belongs?in the bedroom. 2009, Harper

The authors have made the first year easier for parents by advocating a common sense you-can-do-it approach to parenthood. This self help book is encyclopedic in its coverage leading parents from month-to-month, check up to check up, even feeding to feeding. Sections cover sleeping habits, infant illnesses, safety, traveling with baby, first food recipes, common home remedies, and a chart of common childhood illnesses. 2014, Workman Publishing, 3rd Edition

This self help book is a hands-on practical guide to understanding child rearing differences between parents and how to work through conflicts arising from these. It is filled with real life examples from Dr. Taffel's practice and offers practical and reasonable guidance that helps both parents feel that they are, after all, on the same side. 2002, The Guilford Press